


Career Day

by Anam_Writes



Series: princes love dragons; it's just a fact [10]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Children, Children of Characters, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fan Characters, Fluff, Modern Royalty, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25417420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anam_Writes/pseuds/Anam_Writes
Summary: "Given our 'situation,' maybe we can have a couple strings pulled," Claude said. "It's past the deadline but I'm sure Miss Martritz wouldn't deny her kids so unique an opportunity."Byleth smiled. "You don't like pulling status.""Some things are worth it," Claude said, reaching over Byleth's shoulder to flick off the bedside lamp. "Don't you think?"...It's career day for Jerry Eisner-Riegan's third grade class and Claude wants to give a little presentation.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: princes love dragons; it's just a fact [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610308
Comments: 10
Kudos: 97
Collections: Claudeleth Week 2020





	Career Day

**Author's Note:**

> Had a different plan. Thought of this. Scrapped other plans. Wrote this.

You are invited to…

CAREER DAY!!!  
18th of the Wyvern Moon  
9 am

All parents and guardians of students in class 3A must contact Miss Martritz (contact information available in the staff directory) by the 15th of the Wyvern Moon if they wish to participate. 

Participants are asked to wear work attire and bring a potluck contribution. Please be advised any contributions must adhere to our allergy guidelines as written in our student-parent handbook. (pg. 32)

…

Claude didn't make a habit of rifling through trash, so he counted his blessings that he even managed to see the colourfully decorated letter all crumpled up in his paper bin. It was bordered in bright sunshine yellow and printed in a big green font - the colours of Little Dearlings' Private School. He thought, at first, he or Byleth must have made a mistake, accidentally lumped the monthly newsletter in with other garbage. But no, this was a special letter, the kind usually handed out to students to give to their parents. Only, Claude had never seen this before; Jerry never gave it to him. 

"Did you see this?" Claude asked his wife when he crawled into bed that night. 

Byleth took the badly creased piece of paper from him and rested it in her lap like she would a good nighttime book. 

"No," Byleth said. "I didn't even know they were having a career day."

"Neither did I!" Claude said. "And look here: the fifteenth, it says. We're a day late. I think Jerry was supposed to give this to us."

"Probably," Byleth nodded. 

She handed Claude the paper back and fluffed her pillow, prepping to tuck in for the night. 

It was only because he knew her, loved her, so well and for so long, that Claude could identify the subtlety of her frown.

"Probably, okay," Claude repeated, raising a brow. "And? Anything else?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to say," Byleth sighed. She fell to the mattress with a mighty harrumph before yawning through the rest of her point. "He probably threw it out."

"That's so unlike him," Claude muttered, shaking his head. He stretched out, laying the paper on his night stand before turning to face Byleth again. "He always brings us things for events. And he always gets so excited, too. I don't get why he'd throw it out."

Byleth's brow curved upwards and her lips pulled into a grimace. "Well, it's not as though we would have gone."

Claude blinked. "I'm not taking your meaning."

"Have either of us ever chaperoned a trip?" Byleth asked. "Or hosted a play date with someone who's not a family friend? Have we ever had a birthday party in the actual house?"

"I…" Claude glanced back at the paper over his shoulder. "No, but -"

"He's noticed, Claude," Byleth said. Her face melted that way it so rarely managed to. It made Claude's heart ache just a little for her, more for his son. "He probably just didn't want to be disappointed again."

He gulped.

It was Claude's turn to flop onto the mattress now. He turned to lie on his side and stared at the letter, eyes tracing the lines folded in. He imagined little fists balling it up, tossing it away from his parents' view. 

"Shit."

Byleth sighed. He could feel her arms wrap around his waist, her cheek press to his spine, between the blades of his shoulder. Her hand ran up and down his chest in a way that was usually comforting. Tonight it was actually just sad. 

"We knew it would be hard," she reminded him. "Given our...situation."

He winced. 

His situation. The one he was born into. The one his little boy didn't have any say in. He remembered what it felt like at that age. 

Then it hit him. He turned over in his wife's embrace, grinning like a naughty cat at an unattended glass on the kitchen counter. 

"Given our 'situation,' maybe we can have a couple strings pulled," Claude said. "It's past the deadline but I'm sure Miss Martritz wouldn't deny her kids so unique an opportunity."

Byleth smiled. "You don't like pulling status."

"Some things are worth it," Claude said, reaching over Byleth's shoulder to flick off the bedside lamp. "Don't you think?"

…

Claude and Byleth had the morning routine down, choreographed tighter than a Mittlefrank ballet chorus. Byleth helped Jerry pick out his clothes and did the "pearly check" on his teeth to make sure they were all clean. Claude stayed in the kitchen, packed lunches for the whole family and brewed coffee for himself and tea for his wife. Sometimes - if he had a spare minute, like he did today, he'd make tea for Nader as well. The man in question stood in the foyer, texting away to make sure all the day's security detail was in place and waiting to usher the family into the waiting car with the tinted windows. 

Today ran smoothly, which it had to for the scheme Claude kept in his pocket, and by 8:30 am the whole family was packed into the back of the car with Nader taking the wheel upfront.

"Seat belt nice and tight?" Claude asked his son, double checking the straps anyways, even as he nodded. "Alright. Ready for wiggles?" 

Jerry smiled, his head bobbing rapidly in answer. Claude wiggled the car stool back and forth, making sure it was buckled in right, and made big wave sounds as he did. 

His son laughed like he always did amd Claude hoped, internally, that he'd never get "too old" for that to be fun anymore. 

"First stop, school," Byleth said, as Nader got the go ahead from Claude and started pulling out of the driveway. 

The look she gave him over Jerry's head was all he needed. Claude gave a nod; he was ready. 

It took about fifteen minutes, for them to reach the school. Claude braced himself as Nader pulled into the drop off zone and, as usual, Byleth got out on her side. 

She kept the door open and, wedged between the car and the curb, started fiddling with the buckles on the seat belt and the car seat. That's when they hit it, the snag in the routine. 

Byleth smirked as much as Claude had ever seen her manage before turned to Nader, locking eyes with him in his rearview mirror and frowning. 

"It's stuck," she told him. "Could you give me a hand."

Before Nader was a guard he was a family friend so it did not occur to him - though perhaps it should have - to be suspicious of Byleth. He knew enough to keep his eyes peeled when it came to Claude but honest, straight-shooting Byleth. So even though Claude could have easily given his wife some help, Nader stepped out of the vehicle. That's when Claude took action. 

In one smooth motion, as the old guard turned to step out, Claude had his seat belt unbuckled and his door open. As swift as his legs could carry him, Claude was sprinting out the door and to the far corner of the school. 

"Hey!" Nader bellowed.

But he was too late. If Byleth played her part right - which he knew she would - Nader would be too busy chasing around his wife, running off with their kid, to worry about his grown ass charge bolting. 

Still, he had to hurry. It was only so long until Nader realized Byleth was taking a roundabout way to the classroom. 

Claude got the pretty hedge gate at the back of the school, separating the back staff entrance from the rest of the grounds. With a quick prayer that there were no cameras around to see him - this would make for some interesting tabloid photos, after all - Claude vaulted the hedge and slipped in through the back. It was unlocked, just like Miss Martritz promised. 

Once inside, Claude huffed in a deep breath of cool, conditioned air and wiped his brow on the back of his sleeve. Two flights of stairs later, he arrived at the door to classroom 3A to find Byleth gathered among the other parents, Nader shaking his head just behind her. 

"Skipping out on security to put on a show for some kids," Nader laughed. "Stupid, but I respect it."

Claude only shot him a quick wink. There were too many eyes amongst these strangers, all gaping as Claude approached. Nader wouldn't drag him back to the car now; it would cause too much of a scene. 

"Is Jerry in class already?" Claude asked Byleth. 

She nodded, glowing a little from her distraction of Nader. "Yeah. Miss Martritz is just going over the rules for the kids and then we can go in. She says you can go first but we can't stay for the potluck."

"Why not?" Claude quirked a brow, shooting an expectant look at Nader. 

"We didn't bring a dish," Byleth shrugged. 

Claude laughed. Pulling status would only get him so far, it would seem. 

It was only a few more minutes before the door was opened. The other parents parted as though in instinct, no prompting from Nader required, so they could go inside. A couple eyes lit up when they entered the room, probably just those kids who recognized Claude from the TV and had a vague understanding of who he was. 

Except one little girl, who twirled around to Jerry beside her and squealed. "Your daddy's a prince!?"

Claude worried for a moment that Jerry might shrink back, but instead his eyes widened and he nodded, chest puffing up the tiniest bit. 

Byleth took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze as he walked up to the empty chair in the middle of the children's semi-circle. 

"May I?" He asked Miss Martritz, gestured at the seat vaguely. 

"Go right ahead," the teacher smiled. 

Claude sat down, squirming a bit under the heat of what felt like a million little eyes on him. He could take being stared at by his peers, he was used to that. The utter dazzlement on these kids faces though. 

Claude gave them a weak wave. 

Miss Martritz directed the other parents to sit in the chairs in a semi-circle around where the children sat. Byleth took a spot at the end, gave a little thumbs up. Nader stood behind her, shaking his head when Miss Martritz offered to find him a chair. 

"I'm on duty," he said. 

Miss Martritz took up a position beside Claude for his introduction. "Today we have a very special speaker to start with. This is Jerry's daddy, His Royal Highness, Prince Claude von Riegan from Almyra. Everyone give him a big class 3A welcome!"

"Welcome, Mr. Riegan!" They said in unison, forgoing all the HRH nonsense. 

"Hello!" Claude watched Miss Martritz retreat to her desk to take a seat and supposed that was his queue to start. He looked over at Byleth, then at the wide grin of his son on the floor. He could do this. "Like Miss Martritz said, my name is Claude. Some of you may have seen me on TV. I'm the prince in Almyra. It's a country right over the mountains. You have to take a plane or a train to get there."

A hand shot up before Claude could go on and he gave a little thanks to the stars. 

He pointed out the little girl and tried his hardest to sound as encouraging as he could. "You have a question?"

"My mommy says Almyra is really, really big," she said. "Bigger that Fódlan."

"Your mommy's right," Claude nodded. "Almyra is one and a half Fódlans big."

The children let out a series of gasps, ohs and excited chattering. 

"Are there any other questions?" Claude put out there. 

A boy in the back raised his hand. "Is Almyra hot?"

"It can be," Claude said. "There's a really big, hot dessert right in the middle and the plains are really hot too. But, if you take a trip north or if you climb up the mountains that are all over it's actually very cold. We have a part in the north east that's called tundra. Tundras are like deserts but super cold."

Next, the little girl who had spoken to Jerry raised her hand. "If you're a prince, do you get to tell people what to do?"

He heard the sharp tear of Nader snorting. 

"Not really, no," Claude answered. "Almyra is what's called a constitutional monarchy."

She tilted her head. "What does...cons-ti-doot-al mean?"

Claude smirked. "It means I'm unemployed."

That got a chuckle from the parents. 

"If you're the prince of Almyra-" one child called out. 

"James," Miss Martritz interrupted gently. "Hand up, please."

The child called James raised their hand and started again. "If you're the prince of Almyra, why do you live in Derdriu?"

"Because my wife, Jerry's mommy, lives in Derdriu," he answered. 

"Why didn't Jerry's mommy move to Almyra with you?" The boy followed up. 

"Because, unlike me, Jerry's mommy has a real job."

…

Claude finished his presentation with a reminder to the kids to stay in school and a confused little one asking where else they would go. 

Such snark, he thought. From the mouths of babes. 

Claude took his seat with Byleth to watch the rest of the presentations: a doctor, a firefighter, a dog trainer, a store manager. There were all kinds of jobs for the children to ask about. When the presentations wound down, Nader gave Claude a tap on the shoulder and Miss Martritz came over to thank them for their time. 

"This is really on us for not buying cookies or something," Byleth whispered to him as they were ushered away from the starting potluck and towards the door. 

"You think I'd give children store bought cookies!" Claude huffed. "The horror."

When they got to the doorway, Jerry's little voice broke through the chatter of the group. A doll he was playing with went clattering to the ground as he begged: "wait!"

Claude and Byleth each took a knee, as he ran his tiny legs towards them. His arms extended out two wrap around them both as Nader took the signal and waited out in the hall. 

"Thank you for coming," Jerry said. "I love you."

"We love you too," Byleth said, giving her little boy a squeeze back. 

"So much," Claude added. 

The whole drive downtown - to Byleth's real job and Claude's fake one - they kept their hands tightly clasped. 

"We're pretty cool parents," Claude joked. 

"I am, at least," Byleth laughed. "Nothing cool about being unemployed."

Claude didn't have the willpower to fake offense at that. "I love you, baby."

Byleth gave him a peck on the lips. "I love you too."


End file.
